WeGO Brings Together Young Leaders and Experts to Discuss Smart Cities During Smart Life Week in Seoul

[Seoul, October 7, 2026] — The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) successfully hosted the 2026 Sustainable Smart City Champions Session in Seoul, as part of the Smart Life Week event co-hosted by WeGO and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The session brought together youth awardees, global experts, and city leaders under the theme “Youth x Experts: A Dialogue on Smart Cities”.

The session opened with remarks from Mr. Jeong-kee Kim, Secretary General of WeGO, who emphasized the importance of youth participation in designing tech-enabled, human-centric cities. Congratulatory remarks followed from Mr. Sung-bin Yim of the Institute of Smart City & Architecture, Prof. Karim Chelli, President of Canadian University Dubai, and Ms. Jung Sook Park, President of the Seoul Foundation of Women & Family.

The session was part of the broader WeGO Sustainable Smart City Champions Program, which has reached over 500 youth participants from around the world through online lectures and workshops in cities including Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Milan, and Seoul.

A key highlight of the event was the Global Youth Award Ceremony, now celebrating its second year, which recognized 18 winners selected by 10 category judges across 8 categories, including Smart City, Net Zero, Advanced Technology, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, SDGs, Culture and AI. The awardees came from a wide range of domestic and international institutions, reflecting WeGO’s commitment to expanding youth engagement on a global scale.

This award was developed in partnership with a diverse group of organizations, including:

• University of Geneva, Catholic University of Milan and Technical University of Munich
• Next Challenge Foundation
• Silk Road University Network (SUN)
• Kookmin University
• The State University of New York (SUNY) Korea
• 3K Software / All Nations Global Emerging Leadership School
• Boombooming

Following the ceremony, the session concluded with a panel discussion on pressing questions about smart cities, including questions submitted by students in advance. Moderated by Danil Kerimi, Senior Advisor of WeGO, the panel brought together the following experts:

• Dr. Alexandre Hedjazi, Senior Lecturer at the University of Geneva and Chair of the Geneva UNECE Center of Excellence Smart Sustainable Cities
• Dr. Matteo Tarantino, Associate Professor at the Catholic University of Milan
• Dr. Byungjoon Kim, Professor and Vice President for Globalization at Kookmin University
• Prof. Karim Chelli, President and Vice-Chancellor of Canadian University Dubai
• Mr. Sung-bin Yim, Chairman of the Global Youth Award and Vice-Chairman for Global Communications at the Institute of Smart City & Architecture

Through programs like the Champions Program and the Global Youth Award, WeGO remains committed to empowering the next generation of leaders to build smarter, more sustainable and more inclusive cities.

About the WeGO Sustainable Smart City Champions Program

Now in its fifth year, the WeGO Sustainable Smart City Champions Program is a hybrid youth capacity-building initiative open to students and young leaders worldwide, aimed at enhancing their skills in the field of smart city development. Its free online course has four parts: smart and sustainable city transitions, sustainable urban infrastructure, AI for smart and sustainable cities, and a new module for 2026 on shaping the future of housing. All courses are available free of charge at www.cityresiliencetraining.com. In the meantime, WeGO will continue the in-person workshop series in other cities around the world, including Athens, New York and Milan.

About WeGO

The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), is a membership-based international association of local governments, smart tech solution providers, and institutions committed to the transformation of cities into smart sustainable cities through facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP). WeGO was founded by 50 member cities in 2010 as the World e-Governments Organization, hence our acronym. In response to the evolving concept of smart cities, WeGO expanded its vision and mandate at the 4th General Assembly (2017) and its name to the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. WeGO’s Secretariat is based in Seoul, Korea, and has regional offices in East Asia (Chengdu, China), Africa (Abuja, Nigeria), Middle East & North Africa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Latin America (Cuenca, Ecuador), and Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan). As the leading platform on smart city development, WeGO’s mission is to share knowledge and good practices in e-Governance; strengthen administrative efficiency and transparency; advance digital capacity; facilitate civic involvement; bridge the digital divide and inequality; and promote cooperation solidarity among cities and local governments around the world.

WeGO serves for its members as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.

Press Contact:
Name:  Natália Penhalves
E-mail: natalia@we-gov.org
Phone: +82-70-4202-9169